Concussions give Ducks a headache

The Oregon men’s basketball team will only have eight scholarship players available for Thursday night’s game against California at McArthur Court, after three players with concussions — LeKendric Longmire, Drew Wiley and Churchill Odia — continued to show symptoms Wednesday, coach Ernie Kent said.

Longmire has started 24 of 25 games at the wing position and is Oregon’s second-leading scorer, at 9.9 points per game, and its most consistent defender. Wiley has played in 22 games, and Odia has played in all 25 games, with four starts.

“All three still have problems with headaches and they’re not testing out right,” Kent said. “Hopefully we’ll get them all back for Saturday’s game.”

Kent said guard Kamyron Brown will move into Longmire’s place in the starting lineup, along with guards Garrett Sim and Tajuan Porter, center Michael Dunigan and forward Joevan Catron. In reserve, the Ducks will have wing Matt Humphrey, center-forward Josh Crittle and wing Teondre Williams, who practiced Wednesday wearing prescription sports glasses after coming down with an eye infection on Monday. Williams had been sidelined previously with a foot injury, and Kent said it’s likely that walk-on guards John Elorriaga and Nicholas Fearn will also play against the Bears.

“We just become the Golden State Warriors, play small ball, let’s go,” an upbeat Kent said after Oregon’s practice. When it was pointed out the Ducks would only have eight scholarship players available, Kent quipped “You can only play five at once.”

Figure the Ducks will need major minutes out of the starters, with Crittle and Humphrey needing to make contributions off the bench. “Maybe it’s Matt’s turn now to step up and make some points and make some shots,” Kent said of Humphrey.

The Ducks can’t be sure how much they’ll get out of Williams, given that he’s been sidelined a couple of weeks with a foot injury, hasn’t appeared in a game since Jan. 15, is coming off a sickness and is adjusting to new sports glasses which, in Wednesday’s practice, were loose and sliding around. He hasn’t played in glasses/goggles since eighth grade, Williams said, but he can’t wear his contacts for two weeks because of the eye infection, and without corrective lenses “I can’t see anything.”